Hairstyling is a popular and extensively practiced art. In styling hair, it is well known to curl or twist hair. Curled hair is concentrically wound. Twisted hair is axially twisted. Hairstylists wind or twist hair to form curls, waves, and ropes of long hair. Such ropes may be loose or folded into large loops.
One hair styling technique which has recently gained popularity involves forming a number of looping and folded groups of hair on an individual's head. The stylist selects a group of hair and axially twists the hair from the end. A stylist practicing this techique uses both hands. The stylist holds the selected group of hair in one hand and twists the group axially by rotating the wrist. The stylist then grasps the group of hair with the other hand and releases the first hand. Holding the hair with the second hand prevents un-twisting. The stylist then rotates the second hand to twist the hair axially again or alternatively, the first hand re-grasps the end of the group and rotates to twist the hair axially. The grasp, twist, re-grasp and release is repeat several times, depending on a number of factors, including the length of the hair, the tightness to which the hair is twisted, and the desired size of the hair loops. The length of the group of hair becomes shorter in response to the axial twisting, and the stylist allows the hair to fold and loop while the axial twisting continues. When the group of hair loops against the head, the end of the hair is pinned, and the process started again with another group of hair. Such twisting is very time consuming, and an average styling may take about three hours to complete. The quality of the styled hair is also highly dependent upon the stylist's skill.
A variety of devices exist to curl hair, the simplest being hair curlers which are cylinders having prongs extending outwardly therefrom. However, hair has heretofore been twisted axially by hand. Currently, hair is axially twisted by manually twisting the hair against itself or against a rolled piece of paper, as discussed above.
Many devices are known in the prior art for concentrically curling hair; however, it is believed that none of these devices are suitable for axially twisting hair. One example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,586,103 issued to Smith. The '103 patent describes an electrically operated hair curler used to roll or curl hair concentrically. This device has several disadvantages which do not make it practical for axially twisting hair. For example, the tapered shape of the spindle 21 does not apply pressure evenly along the longitudinal axis of the spindle. An uneven longitudinal pressure causes the strands of hair to become entangled and hard to manipulate. In addition, the open design of the slot on the spindle does not restrict the hair from falling out of the spindle when trying to axially twist hair along the longitudinal axis of the hair.
Another example of a hair curler found in the prior art is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,472 which issued to Battaglia. The '472 patent describes a curler haivng a circle of prongs 41 which extend as cantilevers from a base. These prongs, likewise, are not effective in retaining hair when trying to longitudinally twist the group of hair. The prongs function to retain the group of hair reliably only when the prongs are positioned substantially perpendicular to the hair. Such a device curls hair concentrically.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,524,058 issued to Kamara describes a conventional "alligator clip" type hair curler for forming concentric curls. An electric motor winds the hair into curls rather than forming curls by manual winding of the hair by the stylist. When used to concentrically curl hair, the concentric wraps of hair would be expected to apply relatively uniform pressure on hair within the clip. However, when axial twisting hair, hair is not concentrically wrapped around the clip and is therefore not available to apply pressure.
Therefore, the various efforts found in the prior art are directed to curlers suitable for forming concentric curls of hair. There remains a need in the art for a device to allow expeditious axial twisting of hair, for a device which is capable of providing more uniform pressure to prevent tangling of hair while styling, for a device which is capable of retaining hair placed substantially parallel in the device, and a device for creating hair styles which are not highly dependent upon the stylist's skill in twisting groups of hair.